Old-World Style in a New Atlanta Home

The designer's tricks are literally as easy as A-B-C.

Robert Brown creates an old-world feeling for a large new house in Atlanta — his trick is literally as easy as A-B-C.

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Niche

Niche

A living room niche upholstered in wool sateen frames a sofa in Glant's Wool Cashmere Flannel in Nougat. "The Madonna and Child painting is perfect for the space," says designer Robert Brown. "It's both complex and innocent."

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Hallway

Hallway

A 16th-century Palladian villa inspired the architecture of this new Atlanta house. The long center hallway connects all the rooms on the main level.

Niche

A living room niche upholstered in wool sateen frames a sofa in Glant's Wool Cashmere Flannel in Nougat. "The Madonna and Child painting is perfect for the space," says designer Robert Brown. "It's both complex and innocent."

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Hallway

A 16th-century Palladian villa inspired the architecture of this new Atlanta house. The long center hallway connects all the rooms on the main level.

James Merrell

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Large Living Room

"The living room is massive, with 28-foot-high ceilings, and it wasn't easy to make it intimate and warm," says Brown. He laid an antique rug over the seagrass carpet; it has all the colors of the room — Tuscan red, sage green, camel — and it visually leads you to the seating group by the windows. "The room is bathed in light most of the day, and in the evening, it glows in candlelight."

James Merrell

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Small Sitting Area

A hand-painted screen frames a small sitting area in the living room and acts as a backdrop to the Edward Ferrell Chiswick chaise. The pair of chairs can move easily from one sitting area to another. Stone Cypress side table from Dennis & Leen.

James Merrell

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Architectural Dining Room

An antique mirror "cleverly reflects the architecture of the dining room. And this perfectly square space screamed out for a round table." Murano glass vessels on the table add to the young, modern mix in the house.

James Merrell

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Kitchen and Family Room

In the open-plan kitchen and family room, an antique trestle table and chairs are "chipped, weathered, and indestructible, and we like that," Brown says. "With four young children, the owners need a durable, functional space, but they didn't want to give up style and beauty." A round custom chandelier and a Mansard tole lantern from Niermann Weeks are a compatible duo.

James Merrell

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Foyer

For subtle impact, Brown skirted a table in the entry hall with an overscale silk damask — Zoffany's Nureyev in Ivory. "It's a huge pattern," says Brown. "If it were a solid, it would be no big deal, just a place to put a lamp on."

James Merrell

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Veranda

Flowing sheers soften the hard lines of the veranda's stucco, "and they move beautifully in the wind." The Royal iron daybed is from Century Furniture; the marble-topped iron tea table is from the Stalls; the lantern is from Circa Lighting.

James Merrell

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Master Bedroom with Unique Headboard

The owners' open-iron bed was too understated for the master bedroom, so Brown mounted a hand-painted screen to create a headboard. Its colors inspired the green, silver, and beige palette. A pair of beaded Venetian mirrors from Restoriation Hardware "lend a spark of glamour," says Brown, and Lee Industries Shelter Wing chairs in linen are "overstuffed and ultra-comfy."